Image: Motorola

At the June 23, 2026, Tulare County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office was authorized to implement plans to operate a “Drone As First Responder” program. Purchased through Motorola, the system will, in the Sheriff’s Office words, “enhance operational efficiency, officer safety, emergency response capabilities, and public safety operations through implementation of a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program utilizing the Motorola Solutions BRINC drone platform.”

The Supervisors, in a consent calendar item not pulled (no public presentation or discussion), approved the proposal. There is no cost for the first year of the program. If, after a year-long “test program”, the County wishes to continue, the cost is just under $560,000 a year, for four more years. The Sheriff’s Office plans to use AB 109 Public Safety Realignment grant funding to pay for the cost of this program.

The Sheriff’s Office has used drones for several years, but these models are a technological leap in capabilities. Previously, a Deputy would have to respond to a scene and deploy a drone from their patrol vehicle. With this system, the drones can be deployed from fixed as well as mobile locations.

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